The last remaining pint in my shipment from Graeter's, Cookie Dough Chocolate Chip, combines two mix-in powerhouses inside their voluptuous vanilla ice cream. Graeter's seems to have a good idea of exactly how to take simple, subtle flavors, use the best ingredients possible and combine them all using their unique manufacturing process. With that being said, recreating a traditional ice cream flavor such as cookie dough sounds like something they'd excel at doing.
Much like the cookie dough bites involved in Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough from Häagen-Dazs, Graeter's has adopted the method of using just dough in their version, exiling their dark chocolate chips to fend for themselves in the vanilla ice cream. The top of this flavor looks much like that of Toffee Chocolate Chip, but as soon as my spoon scrapes away the first layer I see how valuable the real estate is below the surface. Leaving little room for the vanilla ice cream, Graeter's has packed this carton with as many chocolate chips and cookie dough balls as possible.
With large mix-ins such as these, along with the super-premium vanilla ice cream, the 310 calories per serving comes as little surprise. If you're prepared to indulge in a pint such as this, concern for nutrition facts should be thrown to the wind. Because of the dense ice cream and gaudy mix-ins, this flavor requires patience to work through, so get cozy. The familiar taste of their vanilla and signature chocolate chips come together to provide a classic combination that acts as the background in many of their famous flavors. The thick, smooth base melts away slowly, leaving behind a bevy of chocolate chips to finish off each bite.
Although the taste and quality of the vanilla and chocolate shouldn't be ignored, the highlight of this offering is obviously the Graeter's made from scratch cookie dough. Because of the slow pace at which the ice cream melts down, the bites have a tendency to break away, allowing only a fragment of the cookie dough to be scooped out. But after a while, I manage to get a few whole pieces on the end of my spoon. Just as dense as the peanut butter dough balls inside their Chocolate Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, these bits of standard cookie dough have a bit of the same problems as their predecessors.
Although they're flavorful and bursting with a buttery sweetness, the slightly frozen nature of the cookie dough just takes away from their overall flavor. Breaking down at an even slower rate than the chocolate chips, the overly hard texture just isn't as pleasant as the softer dough bites involved in the versions from Häagen-Dazs, Blue Bell, and Ben & Jerry's. Despite the less than desirable consistency, the flavor ultimately shines through, combining with the chocolate chips and vanilla ice cream to produce an incredible cookie dough creation.
Where I Found It: Graeter's Online Store
Grade: B
